Pubdate: Sat, 28 Oct 2000
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Copyright: 2000 The Orange County Register
Contact:  P.O. Box 11626, Santa Ana, CA 92711
Fax: (714) 565-3657
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Author: John Howard, The Associated Press

GREENS STORM STATION DURING SENATE DEBATE

U.S. Senate contenders Dianne Feinstein and Tom Campbell clashed
sharply Friday on drugs, economics and immigration as raucous Green
Party protesters rushed the television station where they debated and
demanded their candidate be allowed to participate.

There were no injuries. After the hour-long debate, Feinstein left the
building through a rear entrance to avoid some 100 protesters who
remained jammed in the building's lobby.

Supporters of Green Party candidate Medea Benjamin began their protest
on the sidewalk in front of KRON-TV, then pushed into the station's
lobby.

Benjamin was excluded from the debate under ground rules adopted by
the station and the Feinstein and Campbell campaigns.

About a dozen police officers blocked the demonstrators and arrested
two people. One was identified as Northern California campaign
director June Brashares. Both were released.

The protest did not delay the debate's start.

In an upstairs studio, Campbell and Feinstein differed on immigration
and the Republican Campbell's proposal to help addicts kick the habit
by giving them access to drugs.

Campbell said the federal government's plan to give $1.3 billion to
Colombia for an anti-drug program was the first step toward a "third
world jungle war."

"Don't spend this money on Colombia, spend it on rehabilitation," he
said.

Feinstein said though current anti-drug efforts have not succeeded,
she opposed offering drugs to addicts.

"It's folly to legalize narcotics," she said.

Campbell also said Feinstein supported a national ID citizenship card
- - which she denied - and restricted levels of legal
immigration.

They also clashed on Social Security financing, with Democratic
incumbent Feinstein opposing Campbell's proposal - similar to that of
Texas Gov. George W. Bush - to invest some Social Security funds in
the stock market.

Campbell, 48, a Harvard-trained Stanford University law school
professor with a decade in the House, has raised issues he says
distinguish him from Feinstein.

Those include replacing the personal income tax with a national sales
tax.

He also notes that he refuses to accept contributions from
special-interest political action committees.

Feinstein, 67, opposes Campbell's position on taxes and accepts PAC
funds.

Both favor gun control and abortion rights.

Campbell also claims that Feinstein has conflicts of interest arising
from her husband's financial dealings and that she failed to fully
disclose them.

Campbell raised the issue in their first debate Tuesday in Santa
Monica. He hammered it again at a San Francisco news conference Friday
afternoon.

Feinstein's husband, international investment banker Richard C. Blum,
has an array of financial interests, including some in China affected
by Feinstein's Senate votes, Campbell said.

Feinstein denies Campbell's assertions. She said she has supplied
complete disclosure information.

A Los Angeles Times poll released Friday showed Feinstein with a
25-point lead over Campbell among likely voters. The survey's margin
of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake